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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| NATO teams struggle to tame anarchic Afghan provinces |
| 2004-07-14 |
| When the German-led civil-military team in the northern city of Konduz determined that a power line was needed to supply a new hospital on the outskirts of town, they knew the quickest solution: build it themselves. Instead, the commanders of the so-called Provincial Reconstruction Team, Col Reinhard Kuhn and his civilian counterpart Thomas Schultze, called a meeting with locals: Mohammad Omar, the provincial governor, General Mohammad Daoud, who commands 9,000 Afghan soldiers in the PRT’s area of responsibility, the mayor, the police chief and ministry officials. "What we are trying to do is support the central government, not replace it," said Mr Schultze. Sitting down with local officials to build a power line may fall outside traditional military duties, but it is part of the daily grind for PRTs, the civil-military teams that will be Nato’s main tool in expanding its peacekeeping mission to northern Afghanistan. The alliance last month approved plans to expand the International Security Assistance Force beyond its 6,500-strong force in Kabul and its only PRT, in Konduz. The expansion fell far short of expectations among Afghan and international officials, promising about 1,500 new troops inside the country and 2,000 on stand-by outside. PRTs, set up by the US-led coalition fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan’s troubled south, are designed to help extend the reach of central government. "It’s about working with provincial governors, tying into a central strategy from Kabul," says Frank Muggeo, PRT director at the Isaf headquarters in Kabul. Nato launched a PRT made up of British and Nordic troops in the northern province of Faryab on July 1 and will add two more - one German, one Dutch - in Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces. The alliance has taken command of a British-led PRT in Mazar-i-Sharif and plans a 1,000-soldier "quick reaction force". In Konduz the team is helping to build up the local police force and to convince Gen Daoud to comply with government plans to disarm 3,000 of his militia as part of a national programme. It acts as a conduit for rural communities, says Mr Schultze, driving to far-flung villages to meet local representatives and explain how requests can be pursued with provincial government or aid agencies. He also co-ordinates the PRTs’ work with aid organisations. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |